Conservative groups urge Congress to rein in NLRB

A who's who of conservative policy groups urged Congress Tuesday to back legislation to rein in the National Labor Relations Board, the federal government's top labor law enforcement agency.

The groups argue that the agency's expansion of the "joint employer" doctrine, which vastly expanded corporate legal liability, is a gross overreach that needs to be rolled back.

Joint employer refers to when one business can be held legally liable for workplace law violations by another business. The groups urged lawmakers to back legislation by Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., dubbed the Save Local Business Act, which would prohibit the NLRB from using an expanded interpretation of the doctrine it adopted in 2015. That expansion changed the standard for liability from "direct control" of another business' workforce to the much vaguer "indirect control."

The legislation has 80 co-sponsors, including three Democrats. It is scheduled to be marked up Wednesday by the House Education and the Workforce Committee

"A policy that makes businesses liable for the practices of their contractors and will cause companies to make changes that leave people worse off, such as ending those relationships with smaller businesses. That means fewer job opportunities, fewer opportunities for entrepreneurs, and fewer chances for American businesses to grow and create jobs," the groups wrote in an open letter to Congress.